Azimuth Returns
by PrincessKiraLombax
Summary: Ratchet keeps on having the same nightmares over and over about Alister Azimuth's death. When he wakes up one night to go out for a walk, he stumbles into a familiar face... Perhaps a little too familiar. Romance fanfic Ratchet and Young Alister request for airlombax! Hope you like it!


It had been at least a month since the Great Clock incident and Ratchet was still trying to acknowledge of what had happened. The bitter memory of Alister's sacrifice still haunted him to this very day. One night, Ratchet was peacefully sleeping in his bed until he began to stir, having a nightmare of the Great Clock.

_Alister went down onto his knees for Ratchet had defeated him in a battle. The young Lombax quickly ran to the lever, trying to stop the Great Clock from breaking apart and saving the universe._

_The Elder looked up and gasped. "No! What are you doing?!"_

"_Come on!" Ratchet was struggling to pull the lever. _

_However, it snapped off of the switch and a long line of bright light lifted to the ceiling. The clock was breaking rapidly and multiple time anomalies were getting ready to rip the very fabric of existence._

"_It's not working…" Alister said to himself as he stood back up, looking around in distress. "Why isn't it working?"_

"_It's because it's not a time machine, Alister!" Ratchet snapped. "The clock isn't mean to alter time, only keep it!"_

_The Elder looked around with lowered ears. Once again, his careless decision had put the universe in jeopardy. It was like him deciding whether or not to trust Tachyon all over, again. "I'm so sorry…" He looked to the ground in shame, knowing it was too late to save the universe. Or was it? When he saw Ratchet go after the switch, he immediately stepped in front of him. "No… Let me!"_

"_What are you gonna do?" Ratchet called as Alister went to the switch._

_The Elder smiled at the young Lombax one last time. "Take care of yourself, Ratchet." Alister grabbed the switch with his wrench. After a long struggle, he finally set the switch forward. A blinding white light filled the room._

_When Ratchet and Clank looked back, they were both shocked to see Alister. The elder was on the floor, looking lifeless. His pocket watch was right in front of him, opened up and revealing the picture of him and Kaden._

_Ratchet slowly walked over to him with glassy green eyes. "Alister?" He knelt down and picked up the pocket watch. He looked like he was about ready to cry._

"_He did a brave thing, Ratchet." Clank suddenly spoke. "You should be proud of him."_

_And, he was. Alister had given up his life to not only save the universe from falling apart, but to save the only Lombax that meant everything to him. It took at least Ratchet a minute to finally break down and start crying._

"_Alister… ALISTER!"_

Ratchet inhaled and exhaled a gasp as he woke up. Looking around, he noticed that he was in his own bedroom. It was just a memory replaying itself in his dreams. He massaged his forehead and got up from his bed. Clank was in the living room in sleep mode, trying to peacefully recharge his battery.

"I'ma let you sleep, pal…" Ratchet said to himself quietly, went back into his room, got dressed and went outside to go for a good, long walk.

It was quite a night in Luminopolis. The city was best known for its neon-colored lights that light up the skies at night. It even had the hottest night clubs in the downtown area where the nocturnal people loved to party. Ratchet should be enjoying the sights of the beautiful city, but the feeling of melancholy was just too great.

Part of him wished that he could have rewound the Great Clock back in time to save Alister from that blast. The Elder was like family to him, no. He was more than family. Ratchet actually loved him just as much as he loved Clank. He stopped for a minute and looked to the tall buildings of Luminopolis.

How he wished Alister was right there, to tell him everything would be alright. To let him know that he was no longer the last Lombax of the universe. He wanted him to be there so bad. Ratchet's green eyes turned glassy, like he was trying to fight tears. It was hurting him so bad for Alister not being there.

He sniffed and wiped his eyes gently. Looking back to the buildings, something had caught his eyes. There was a silhouette in the moonlight and it looked like "A Lombax?" Was it really a Lombax or just a random object that looked like one? Ratchet just shook his head and looked away. "I must be seeing things…"

Looking back, the silhouette was gone. His eyes widened and he shook his head. Now, he was curious. Kicking on his Hoverboots, he sped off towards the building to where the supposed Lombax was. When he made it, there was no one there. Perhaps he had been seeing things.

"Come on, Ratchet. You're just seeing things." He told himself, then gasped when he actually saw the Lombax on top of another building. "Hey! Hey, you!"

The mysterious Lombax's ear twitched at Ratchet's voice. He glanced at the gold Lombax, turned back around, and took off on his own Hoverboots.

"Hey!" Ratchet kicked on his own Hoverboots and gave the other Lombax chase. "Hey, wait a minute!"

The Lombax he was chasing looked very familiar. He had white fur and red stripes like Alister did. Surely this wasn't Alister, but another Lombax that looked just like him. The mysterious Lombax noticed Ratchet chasing him and went faster. Noticing a huge wave of traffic up ahead, he sped right through without getting hit by hover cars.

However, that didn't stop Ratchet from chasing him. He smoothly dodged the hover cars and continued the chase. "Wait a minute! Stop!" He called. "I just wanna talk to you!"

The Lombax ahead of him shook his head and kept going. Seeing a meteor pad up ahead, he stomped on it, jumped high in the air, and smoothly landed on top of a building. Ratchet did the same thing and landed on the building where the other Lombax was.

"Just stop!" He panted and slowly tried to approach him. "Are you really another Lombax or-"

Once again, Ratchet was forced to chase after him when he jumped off and carefully landed on the sidewalk with his Hoverboots. After going through huge crowds and heavy traffics, the mysterious Lombax finally stopped dead in his tracks at a dead end.

Ratchet stopped behind him. "There's no point in continuing this chase! Now, are you gonna tell me who you are or are you just another sick person trying to pull a joke by claiming he's another Lombax?"

Faint chuckling came from the other Lombax as he looked up to the moon. "Boy, you really have gotten better at keeping up with me…" The voice sounded very familiar, but much younger.

"W-What?" Ratchet stood his ground, being ready for a fight in case there was going to be one. "Who are you?"

The other Lombax slowly turned around and revealed his face to Ratchet. The gold Lombax's heart nearly stopped and he could have sworn he almost fainted right there. This Lombax turned out to be no other than Alister Azimuth, but much younger. He was less muscular, but far more handsome than he was before.

"A-Alister?" Ratchet slowly walked over to him. "I-Is that… really you?"

"Yes, Ratchet. It's me."

"But… But, I saw you a-at the Great Clock and that blast! It killed you!" He wanted to reach for him, but retaliated, still believing this was a sick joke.

"It's not a hologuise, Ratchet." Alister assured him and pulled onto his fur. "This is all real."

That seemed proof enough to convince Ratchet that he was real. Part of him wanted to run up and hug him while the other part wanted to yell at him for putting him through so much after his supposed death.

"Y-You're alive…"

Alister sighed and crossed his arms. "Indeed, I am. How many more times are you going to ask me that?"

Ratchet shook his head. "But, why didn't you… Why didn't you let me know that you were alive?"

The question caught Alister off guard for he was not expecting that question. However, he did owe Ratchet an explanation. "Well, I've said and done some things. Trust me… I regret every bit of it. I wanted to tell you for so long, but I was afraid to."

Ratchet softened a little bit. Perhaps he was being selfish earlier. "I see…"

Alister was about to say something until he noticed the people staring at the Lombaxes. He didn't want to reveal the whole truth right in front of them. As far as he was concerned, he was still pronounced dead by the Galactic Council of Polaris.

"Come on. I'll explain everything on the way, boy." He gestured Ratchet to follow him back. Rather than going back to the apartment, Alister led Ratchet to the top of a building. "All right, you remember that blast towards the end, right?"

"Yeah." Ratchet answered plainly, for the bitter memory still haunted him.

"Well, rather than it killing me, it froze my timeline. It made my heart rate unreadable, making it look like I was dead." He paused and looked to Ratchet who was still listening. "When the Zoni took my body up to a belfry of the Great Clock, I suddenly woke up and somehow, not only did my timeline freeze up. It… also rewound my time, too."

It took Ratchet a few seconds to analyze Alister's story. He studied him for a minute before saying, "Is that why you look so young?"

"Yes."

After a long, awkward silence, Ratchet walked over to Alister. He looked like he was about to break down and cry. The red-and-white Lombax expected him to yell or punch him. While he braced for the worse, he was taken by surprise when Ratchet hugged him.

The gold-and-brown Lombax was completely losing it. His voice broke into sobs and tears went streaming down his cheeks. He wasn't angry or sad at all. He was happy. Ratchet finally had Alister back in his life and never wanted to let go of him for he feared that he would disappear, again.

"Alister, please don't go!" He sobbed. "Don't leave me all alone, again!"

Alister was thrown off guard by the begging. He never thought Ratchet would be the emotional type at all. The former elder gently wrapped his arms around the crying Lombax, trying to get him to calm back down.

"I'm… I'm right here, Ratchet. I'm not going anywhere." He promised. "It's alright, now. You'll always have a family right beside you."

It took Alister at least an hour to get Ratchet to calm back down. The gold Lombax stared at the young Alister for a long time. He wanted to tell him something for a long time, now. That was until it was starting to pour down rain.

"Come on! We'll head back to the apartment before Clank notices I'm gone!" Ratchet suggested.

The Lombaxes engaged their Hoverboots and took off back to the apartment. While Ratchet was going through his set of keys, Alister stayed back. He looked nervous, especially since Clank knew about him killing Ratchet in the other timeline. That was one of the real reasons why he hid from Ratchet and Clank.

He snapped back in reality when Ratchet unlocked the door. "Stay quiet. Clank's still sleeping…" Right after Alister walked in, he carefully closed the door.

"There you are!"

The Lombaxes nearly jumped out of their Hoverboots at the sudden voice. Turning around, Clank was already awake. He placed his hands on his metal hips and tapped his foot on the floor, glaring at Ratchet.

"H-Hey, pal." Ratchet chuckled nervously while Alister slowly backed away. "You're… up early."

"I could saw the same for you-" Looking next to him, he noticed the other Lombax and grew curious. "Ratchet, who is this?"

He scratched behind his neck nervously. "Uh… Clank, you're not going to believe this, but… It's actually Alister." As he explained how Alister lived, Clank was without a doubt shocked and baffled. His sensors did tell him that he was really Alister. Even though he was good at hiding it, he wasn't really pleased.

"I see…" The robot's gaze shifted over to Alister. "He is not staying here, is he?"

"What?" Ratchet asked, really shocked by Clank's remark.

"Ratchet, may have a word with you? Alone?"

The gold Lombax stood his ground and shook his head. "No! Whatever you say, you can say to the both of us!"

Clank huffed and glared at him. "Fine. I do not think it is a good idea for Azimuth to stay here."

"Why not?" Ratchet snapped.

"Because… Because…" Clank wanted to tell him about the other timeline, but was worried about the outcome later on. "He has done a lot of things worse than the Great Clock, Ratchet."

Alister suddenly stepped in between them and picked up the robot, carrying him all the way into the kitchen. Despite his protests, he held onto the robot until he stopped struggling to break free. He carefully put him down. Clank was not a happy robot.

"What was the meaning of that?" He demanded.

"Clank, I understand you may hold a grudge against me and I don't blame you. But, please… You saw how upset Ratchet was when he thought I died. Do you really want him to be heartbroken, again?"

Clank softened by Alister's comeback. Now that he had mentioned it, it was very hard for Ratchet to get over the supposed death of the elder. He really didn't want to see that, again.

"Just for a little while, Clank." Alister begged. "Just until things settle down and until I'm ready to let the universe know I'm alive."

"Oh… Very well." He reluctantly agreed. "However… Do you plan on telling him?"

"Telling him what?"

"I… believe you know what, Azimuth."

He was about to say something until he realized what Clank meant by that. "I think… I think I'll tell him right now before anything happens." Alister feared that he wasn't going to get another chance to tell Ratchet about the other timeline. Even if it killed him, he had to know the truth. Going back into the living room, he looked to Ratchet.

"Son, there's something we need to talk about."

Ratchet tilted his head. "Is… Something wrong, Alister?"

"No, but… I think I need to tell you, right now. Can you sit down?" After waiting for him to sit down, the young Alister cleared his throat. "You do remember… You know, when I fired that blast at you before I pulled the switch on the Great Clock?" After waiting for the nod, he continued, "Well… There's… It's…"

Ratchet's eyes narrowed at Alister. "Spit it out already!"

Alister closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trying to remain calm. "Ratchet, I did something… Something unforgivable… There was supposed to be another timeline. And, in that timeline, I… I killed you…"

The other Lombax's eyes widened and he shook his head. "W-What? No… No way! That's not true!"

"It is, Ratchet." Alister looked to him with glassy brown eyes, like he was getting ready to cry at any minute. "Before the timeline could be set, Clank went back six minutes before the blast!" Tears went streaming down his cheeks. "Ratchet, you… You have no idea how sorry I am! I'm so sorry for all of the things I had done!"

Ratchet really wanted to yell at Alister for all of that, but he didn't. While part of him told him to at least do something hateful, his heart told him not to. Just one look at him and he could immediately see how remorseful he was. He got up and immediately put his harms around the young Alister.

"Alister, I… I forgive you…" He said softly, stroking his back.

The former general's eyes widened and sniffed. "What?"

"I said I forgive you."

"… Ratchet."

He just shook his head and held onto Alister until he calmed back down. "It's… It's in the past now, Alister. Time to move on."

Alister nodded slowly, wrapping his arms back around the other Lombax. "Y-Yeah…" It may have been in the past for Ratchet, but for Alister, he was still trying to move on. It was a struggle, but at least he was trying.

"Alister, it's okay…" Ratchet assured, stroking his back gently. He kept his arms around Alister for about an hour before pulling away.

By then, he was calmed back down and relaxed. It had been so long since Alister was hugged by someone. Deep down, he really enjoyed all of that. In fact, he enjoyed being around Ratchet, again. How long had it been since he had been this close to Ratchet?

Clank had a slight feeling over what might happen next. "Well, if anyone does not need me, I will be in my room for the night." With that, the little robot went into his room and activated sleep mode.

"Y-Yeah, we should get some more sleep, too…" Ratchet said, breaking the silence between him and Alister. The red-and-white Lombax nodded and followed the other to a guest room. "Well… See you in the morning, Alister?"

"Yeah… See you… Tomorrow." Alister gave Ratchet one last hug before going into the guest room and laying down in bed. He wasn't much of a sleeper, anymore. So, he decided to think about that day's events.

He really wasn't expecting Ratchet to be so forgiving or kind towards him, really. He was indeed like his father. He was always so forgiving and kind when it came to his own friends and family. Alister's eyes widened when a sudden thought hit. The way he was so close to Ratchet felt somehow natural.

Ratchet had the same green eyes like his father and how they were so very beautiful and so very innocent. Why hadn't he notice them sooner? Perhaps everyone was right. Alister was too caught up in his selfish plan, he never noticed Ratchet's beautiful eyes or fur color. It looked like he wasn't going to be getting any sleep for the rest of the night due to too much thinking. He carefully got out of bed and went outside for a little bit once the rain had ceased.

Meanwhile, Ratchet was in his own bedroom, thinking as well. He could hardly believe that Alister was still alive. He remembered seeing that blast when Alister set the Great Clock back to normal. He even remembered how old Alister looked. However, there was no being mistaken. Ratchet had a feeling in his gut that all of this was real. He started to think deeply about a lot of things.

If the Great Clock did have an ability to save someone's life and his own, then there's no telling what else it could do. A thought suddenly hit. He remembered how close to the young Alister he was. Deep down, he admitted to how cute he really looked as a young Lombax. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard footsteps.

"Alister?" He said to himself quietly before getting up to see what was wrong. He noticed Alister going out of the apartment and followed him all the way up to the rooftop. "Alister, are you okay?"

The other Lombax turned to Ratchet and nodded. "Just… Can't sleep, really. I came out here just to think."

"Think about what? Are you okay?" Ratchet asked with concern in his voice.

Alister turned around and faced the lit up city, trying to avoid the question. "Just… A lot of things and what the universe now holds for the future."

"I see…" Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck nervously before looking up ahead. "If you want, I can keep you company. Truth is, I can't sleep, either."

Alister shrugged. "If you want, I don't mind."

The yellow-and-brown Lombax stood closer him and sighed. It felt quite awkward to be really close to Alister, yet somehow comforting. He actually didn't want him to leave. Ever. Ratchet was scared to lose Alister, again.

Looking up to the star-filled sky, Alister felt like he wasn't going to get a chance to say this. He looked to Ratchet with a solemn look. "I… I really want to apologize for putting you through so much. I was caught up in myself, I didn't really think about how it would have affected you."

Ratchet chuckled and smirked. "Are you gonna keep on apologizing forever?"

"Perhaps."

Both male Lombaxes chuckled and looked back to the city. For once, everything was peaceful. No Cragmites, no evil robots, no bad guys, just them and no one else. There was another awkward silence.

"Ratchet…" Alister said, breaking the silence. He was scared, but he had to tell Ratchet his true feelings for him. "There's something I need to tell you. I have a feeling that I may never get another chance to tell you."

This sparked Ratchet's curiosity and concern. "What is it, Alister?"

"Ratchet, I…" Alister feared for an outburst, but he had to get it out of his chest. "Ever since I first met you, I've… I've felt something between us… Something much more than friendship."

Ratchet's eyes widened a little. "Y-You have? Really?"

"Yes… Ratchet, I…" Alister was really having a hard time finding the correct words. Remembering an old military saying about actions speaks more than words, he suddenly grabbed Ratchet's shoulders, taking him by surprise.

"A-Alister, what are you…" Ratchet's face turned strawberry red at Alister's actions. "What's going on?"

"Forgive me, Ratchet." Before he could say anything else, he pulled Ratchet closer to him. He gave him a long, deep kiss on the lips.

Ratchet's eyes were wide as an owl. This was completely unexpected for this was his very first kiss. While he was puzzled, he did like it. When Alister pulled away, both his and Ratchet's faces were red like they were both sunburnt. After a long pause, the red-and-white Lombax slowly backed away.

"I love you." That was Alister said before turning around to go back inside.

Ratchet just stood there for a few seconds before reality had hit him. Alister had just confessed his love for him over a kiss. He could sense that all of this was for real. Happiness could be seen in the Lombax's green eyes. However, his trip to cloud nine was cut short when Alister turned away.

The poor guy was obviously embarrassed, but at least he got to confess his feelings for Ratchet. He yelped when Ratchet suddenly jerked on his shoulder and pulled him in for another kiss on the lips. Now, it was Alister's turn to be surprised.

"R-Ratchet, what are you-" He was interrupted when their tongues suddenly touched each other. "R-Ratchet…" The kiss was suddenly broken when Ratchet pulled away. Alister's face was red as a ruby. Even though it felt really good, he couldn't help but wonder if this was all for real.

"I love you, too…" Ratchet said before going inside with a smirk, leaving Alister standing there with a 'What just happened?' look on his face.

After about a minute of letting it all sink in, Alister followed Ratchet back inside and rather having them sleeping in separate rooms, they were both curled up next to each other in the guest room. Both Lombaxes were fast asleep with their arms around each other. For once, neither one didn't have nightmares.

Clank woke up early in the morning to find both Ratchet and Alister still sleeping. He couldn't help but chuckle at how cute they looked. They both looked like little kittens, seeking comfort from one another. He understood that they both must have had a rough night, so rather than waking them up, he decided to let them sleep.

"Sleep tight, you two…" That was all he said before shutting the door quietly.


End file.
